Spain international U21 manager Luis De la Fuente believes Tottenham Hotspur loanee Bryan Gil is now showing his best form because he is now trusted by current club Valencia. The forgotten Spurs’ summer s igning was shipped out on loan to the La Liga giants after failing to gain the confidence of Antonio Conte.
Shortly after he was sent to Jose Bordalas’ side, Conte immediately raided his former club Juventus to sign Dejan Kulusevski on loan until the end of the season. Despite being signed from Villarreal for a hefty £21.6million, Gil was afforded minimal opportunities of Premier League action under both Conte and Nuno Espirito-Santo.
Over the course of nine Premier League appearances, he only played 87 minutes of domestic football for Spurs, with his longest cameo being the 28 minutes he played in Tottenham’s 3-0 home loss to Chelsea. However, De la Fuente believes the 21-year-old has plenty of time to improve if he is afforded the same level of confidence as he is receiving at Valencia.
“I have always demanded opportunities for these players, confidence and continuity,” de la Fuente said to Super Deporte. “Now he has found it in Valencia. If you trust them, they never fail.
"They are top players. He has the opportunity. They trust him, and he has spectacular mental strength. He hasn’t reached his ceiling yet.”
Five of Gil’s seven La Liga appearances have been in the staring eleven ever since he made the move to the Mestalla Stadium. While Gil is certainly enjoying his time with the Spanish giants, he recently opened up about his difficulty adapting to the new challenges the Premier League confronted him with at Tottenham.
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“Every player needs to have continuity, to feel important. Here, at Valencia, I feel (important) from the first day,” Gil said to AS.
“Not playing affects you on a day-to-day basis, obviously, because you are sadder and more downcast. But it is part of football and you have to accept it.
“In the Premier League, training sessions are very physical, very hard. And that has helped me not to feel fatigue now.
“The adaptation, for me, was difficult. It is very physical football. Back and forth. Being there has been good for me, even if I didn’t play as much as I wanted. I’m more mature.
“I changed habits like eating. I had a chef at home and I gained two kilos. Even so, I noticed that it was not enough for the physical level that exists in the Premier League.”
While he looks to have found a new home at Valencia, the versatile midfielder has assured his parent club that he will be in a much better condition if he is ever brought back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“At Valencia, I continue to work hard on endurance, physicality, in case I have to come back,” the 21-year-old added.
“I belong to Tottenham and they are the ones who have to decide (my future). It’s not up to me. (Whether I stay at Valencia) will depend on the clubs.”
